John Augustus Roebling
John Augustus Roebling was born June 12, 1806, in Mühlhausen, Germany. When Roebling turned 25 he decided to emigrate to Saxonburg, Pennsylvania along with his brother and members of his hometown. He married Johanna Herting, the daughter of someone from Mühlhausen, and had 9 children with her. He soon moved his family to Harrisburg where he took a job as a land surveyor at the Portage Railroad. Roebling quickly noticed that the usage of hemp rope in the incline system could be improved with wrought iron and began to work on an idea. In no time Roebling developed a method of weaving iron cables that were much more durable than hemp cables. His invention became popular very quickly so he started a factory in Trenton, New Jersey to meet its demand. The money earned from his factory allowed him to begin designing suspension bridges and aqueducts. Roebling was able to complete making 12 structures between 1844 and 1869, he built many suspension bridges. Out of these 12 structures, one of the most notable was a bridge he built with his son, Washington, that connected Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky. The bridge stretched 1,051 feet and was a huge accomplishment that he snowballed into a position as chief engineer in the Brooklyn Bridge project. One day while surveying the Brooklyn-side tower of the bridge, a docking boat hit a movable rack that fell and crushed Roebling's toes. Roebling was given medical treatment but primarily treated himself with hydrotherapy, an unproven method where water is continuously poured into a wound. For the next weeks, Roebling poured boiling dirty well water into his wounds until he died of tetanus. After his death, his son and daughter-in-law took over the project and ended up completing his work.
Photograph of John A. Roebling
Image: Wikipedia
Washington Roebling
Washington Augustus Roebling was born May 26, 1837, in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, and played a key role in the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge. After studying at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, he began to work with his father on suspension bridges. But before long he was forced to fight in
the Civil War in the Union army. By the end of the war, he had risen to the rank of colonel and decided to go back into engineering and construction with his father. When his father was tasked with leading the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, Roebling traveled with his wife to Europe to
research new methods using pneumatic caissons, which were airtight boxes that allowed workers to work underwater. But before the project even started, his father died and tasked his son with completing the Brooklyn Bridge. Washington Roebling began construction first on the foundations
for the two towers of the bridge. Their construction required the usage of pneumatic caissons which were still barely researched. They worked by pumping compressed air into underwater chambers which would allow people to work underwater. Although there were many precautions taken, many workers suffered decompression sickness from being brought up too fast, which affected how they adjusted to air pressure. In an attempt to learn more about the caissons, Roebling spent 12 hours in the underwater chamber before passing out. The nitrogen in the compressed air was causing the sickness and could even cause paralysis if a sufficient amount entered the bloodstream. Luckily for Roebling, it was not fatal, but it kept him tied to a bed for a very long time, unable to lead the bridge's construction. Emily Roebling, his wife, would take over most of the construction for the remainder of the project. Although Roebling was not killed by the disease and lived till 89, the Brooklyn Bridge would be his last project.
Emily Roebling
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Emily Warren Roebling was born September 23, 1843, in Cold Spring, New York, and was responsible for finishing the Brooklyn Bridge project. She grew up comfortably and was able to afford to go to school. Towards the end of the Civil War, she met Washington Roebling, an engineer who worked with her brother in the military. The two married each other in 1865 and had one child, John Augustus Roebling II. In 1867, she accompanied Washington Roebling when his father ordered him to go to Europe to learn some valuable information for the Brooklyn Bridge project. After the trip, Washington Roebling would have to take over for his father because of a construction accident that killed him. Sadly, a couple of years after John Roebling's incident, Washington Roebling begins to suffer decompression sickness. Emily Roebling is assigned to take over the project while taking care of her husband at home. Her husband stayed in a residence in Brooklyn Heights where he could watch construction through a telescope while sick. Emily Roebling led the project to success and on May 1883, she was the first to cross the bridge. After the bridge project was done, she focused primarily on leading organizations such as the Daughters of the American Revolution and lecturing around the world.
